Blood was everywhere. It was spattered against the dusty ground and on the few blades of dried grass surrounding the area. It covered the young boy's cyan and yellow shirt, which was stained from grass and dirt from a long journey. It dripped down his face, the bright red contrasting with the pale, freckled skin. His eyes, which usually shone bright and fiery, were dull and determined, determined to complete the quest he had begun. Almost identical to the blood's colour was his hair, untidy and matted, and granted with a reddish-orange hue.

The boy's name was Claus. The name given to him on the day of his birth, by his mother. The only name he'd ever have, and it was stained with his own blood. It seeped from multiple sources on his body, but came at a nonstop flow from his right shoulder, where his arm once was. All that remained was a tattered mess of torn skin and cracked bone.

He could no longer see from his left eye; it had been clawed at viciously, covering the left side of his face with horrifying gashes. He also couldn't feel his legs; they were most likely broken.

Claus was on the ground now. He managed to open his working eye, dizzy from the impact he had received seconds ago. With a grunt, he used his remaining strength to push himself off the ground with agonizing pain. The pressure on his knees was incredible, he was surprised he could even sit up on them. With his weak sight, he searched the ground for the knife he had brought for defense.

Before Claus could avoid it, he remembered the Drago! The beast's foot came crashing into him from behind, pinning him back down into the dirt. He let out a terrified scream as he felt razor sharp claws piercing through his shirt and into his skin. A fair amount of blood filled his mouth, and he forced himself to spit it out. Claus turned his head and looked up, coming face to face with his opponent, the Drago.

The Drago didn't look normal. She had the usual green scales and sharp teeth, but she was also covered head to toe with technological enhancements that Claus couldn't even begin to recognize. This wasn't a normal Drago. Someone had to be behind this. To the side, Claus was able to catch sight of two quivering littermates, hiding in fear, waiting for their mother to finish off her latest prey. Claus realized the mistake he had made. The Drago had a family, just like he once had.

Before he could think any longer, the nails finally broke the skin and sunk deep into the flesh of his back. Claus couldn't even scream anymore, he just choked. There was so much dust and blood in his mouth, he couldn't make a sound. The Drago howled, as if to say, "Stay away from me and my babies!", before lifting Claus off the ground and throwing him.

Claus patiently waited to hit the ground, but he didn't. It wasn't long before he realized he had been hurled off the side of the cliff. Once the realization came, he hit the ground, back first. In an instant, Claus' entire body went numb. His vision grew blurry, and all he could manage to yell out were only mere squeaks. He took large, gasping breathes in a pathetic attempt to get air in his lungs, but his attempts slowly grew weaker as he began to slip away.

But for some reason, it didn't go black. He just laid there, staring at the sky, his entire body feeling as if it were wilting like a flower. He wasn't able to speak, hear, or think for that matter. His mind had gone entirely blank, and no memories crossed him.

Suddenly, after hours of laying under the sun, a dark figure loomed over him. He could barely hear voices.

"Oi, Dave! Come look at this for a minute! I think Master is gonna like this!" Said the person standing over Claus. Another figure, a taller one, joined them.

"Gee Whiz, is that a human kid, Alec?" Asked 'Dave', the taller one.

"Yep, I think so. He don't look so good." Said 'Alec'. Another voice yelled out from far away, and the two figures straightened immediately and went quiet.

"What are you two over here, for?! We're looking for new chimera subjects not roadkill!" Spat the new voice.

"Master Porky, sir! Me and Dave seem to have found a suitable subject! A human child; he's pretty beaten up, but alive. Fixable, yeah?" Suggested Alec. Silence.

"Well, if he is alive, we can't risk letting a witness go. Take him to the ship, we've got our new Commander." Ordered the one Claus guessed to be Porky. He felt himself being lifted up harshly and carried a short distance, before the sun's heat disappeared and cold, clean air of an inside space surrounded him. Before Claus could inspect anything more, he had already slipped into unconsciousness.